World meat industry news

Cherkizovo Group’s turkey plant, run in a joint venture with Spain’s Grupo Fuertes, hit full capacity last week and company executives hope to double the factory’s throughput.

Meat giant Cherkizovo Group’s vertically integrated turkey facility in Tambov is responsible for around a fifth of the turkey meat produced in Russia, but Cherkizovo chiefs said this could be increased to just under half.

Producing around 50,000 t of turkey meat per year in Tambov, Cherkizovo said its factory has the capacity to reach 100,000 t within the next 12 months. As a whole, Russia produced around 230,000 t of turkey meat last year, according to the company.

Its statement of intent comes after the huge facility in south-eastern Russia hit full production capacity five years after Cherkizovo entered into a joint venture with Grupo Fuertes in 2012 to build a scalable turkey plant. Investment in the factory is close to $179 mill. and the firm said it expected any return on investment to take approximately eight years, but it sees huge potential in the plant.

The project has made Cherkizovo one of the largest turkey producers in Russia and allows Spanish partner Grupo Fuertes to dip its toe into the Russian market.

Every aspect of production is controlled, as the facility includes a feed mill, hatcheries, breeding facilities, fattening and rearing sites, alongside high slaughter and processing capabilities. This allows full control of biosecurity and welfare, protecting both the health and housing conditions of its livestock.